A jobs report from the Bank of Scotland has recorded the fastest rise in permanent staff placements for three months.

The headline Bank of Scotland Labour Market Barometer, which measures staff demand, employment and wages, registered a three-month high of 59.7 in June, indicating a marked improvement in the health of the Scottish jobs market.

There has been an increase in both starting salaries and the number of vacancies.

The barometer was broadly in line with its average over 2015 so far, though just below the equivalent index for the UK as a whole.

Edinburgh recorded the sharpest rise in permanent starting salaries, while Dundee led growth in temp hourly pay rates.

The increased wages have been linked to a shortage of qualified candidates.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: “Scotland’s labour market continued to perform well in June.

“The number of people appointed to both permanent and temporary jobs rose in the month while the number of vacancies increased. Permanent staff pay saw a sharp increase while hourly pay rates for temporary staff rose moderately.

“These results suggest an economy continuing to show moderate growth.”

Scottish Government business minister Fergus Ewing added: “We welcome this further evidence that conditions in Scotland’s job market are continuing to improve. The Bank of Scotland report shows that demand for permanent staff is continuing to increase, while permanent starting salaries also grew strongly.

“The report comes at a time when the Office for National Statistics figures published last week show that Scotland’s labour market is performing well across a range of measures.

“They showed that Scotland currently has the highest employment rate, lowest unemployment rate and lowest inactivity rate of all four UK nations.

“This Government is committed to using every power we currently have at our disposal to build a fair and inclusive jobs market that creates the opportunity for all of Scotland’s people and businesses to fulfil their potential.”